Anniversary Adventures
by ammstar11
Summary: Magnus keeps receiving mysterious messages from an unknown group but he decides to ignore them, nothing good ever comes from things like this. Instead he chooses to focus on his first anniversary with Alec. Unfortunately things never go the way you plan.
1. Chapter 1 Planning dates

**Anniversary adventures**

Contains spoilers from the Bane chronicles

Magnus keeps receiving mysterious messages from an unknown group but he decides to ignore them, nothing good ever comes from things like this. Instead he chooses to focus on his first anniversary with Alec. Unfortunately things never go the way you plan.

 **Chapter 1 Planning dates**

An organization that Magnus had never heard of before has been contacting him a lot lately trying to get him to agree to help them, though they won't give many details but still insist that as the high warlock of Brooklyn he would certainly be of great help to them.

He hated requests like this, some unknown big shots that think they are all that and can buy anything they want without really knowing anything about what they were asking him to do. It was always like this at some point in time, a group of rich business men wanting a short cut to moving up, a newfound cult, politicians looking for a new way to get ahead; regardless of the reasons he didn't like getting involved with anyone who couldn't even come talk to him face to face or contact him by phone, it was always a simple message left by his door with no return address, only instructions to leave the note with a reply, it seems some people never got the hang of the telephone or texting.

Reading a new note with the same vague message on it Magnus snaps his fingers and sends out blue sparks to burn the note; some people just couldn't take a hint.

Not that it mattered, Magnus wasn't interested in getting involved with mundanes and their problems right now, he had better things to focus on, like say the first anniversary of when he and Alexander Lightwood started dating was right around the corner and it was the first time in a really long time that he was looking forward to any kind of anniversary that it kind of surprised him. Even if they did have their rough patches over the past year it had in no way been a boring one that's for sure. Though rough patches were to be expected when the high warlock of Brooklyn starts dating a young Shadowhunter, one of the Nefilium a race of humans with the blood of the angel Razel flowing through them, the protectors of man from the demons that hunted them from the shadows

Though Magnus himself had had a handful of good friends among the Nephilim over the years it was truly a marvel to actually be dating one. They had old beliefs and held strongly to their laws " _The law is harsh, but it is the law."_ was a common mantra for them, they didn't tend to get on well with the fey, the children of the moon, the children of the night or the children of Lilith, even with the accords in place for more than a century now the tension between the races was still there.

What made this relationship even more amazing than how it had come about was that the Nephilim frowned upon same sex relationships in general. Of course with the high possibility of the bloodlines ending, preserving them at all cost was a big deal to the Nephilim so in that regard it at least made sense. Magnus himself didn't care about gender or race he was a hopeless romantic who just loved beautiful people, so imagine his surprise when he found himself drawn towards one of these Shadowhunters and in turn receiving mutual adoration.

Alexander Lightwood, or Alec as he was better known truly was a beautiful angel indeed, his perfect athletic build, his amazing coloring with that black hair and beautiful blue eyes combined with pale skin that made his marks seem to come alive was definitely Magnus's favorite combination.

Alec had this innocence about him despite being 19 and had a quiet quality about him that likely stemmed from having to hide his true self from his family for so long but with Magnus he could be himself and truly live his life and little by little he has been coming out of his shell and doing the things he wants. Magnus loved that about him, it made him feel good knowing that he was the first person that Alexander had ever been with and that they had been through so much together.

They had come a long way from when they had started dating so Magnus wanted to do something special for him to show how grateful he was to have him in his long life. But how to show he cared? Alec didn't care much for big parties though Magnus himself loved them, Alec didn't care too much for dressing up though Magnus himself loved fashion and any new opportunity to show off his amazing sense of style that was truly all his own was fine by him.

Maybe he'd make dinner reservations somewhere with a privet table so that Alec could feel more relaxed, followed by a nice evening stroll and come back to Magnus's place later to finish up the night. It was simple enough and ran along the lines of their first date, which as it happened didn't quite go as planned but maybe things would be different this time around, after all they have managed a few uneventful quiet dates that went well, so this one could be too.

Alright it was decided then! He was about to send a text to Alec letting him know the plan for this Saturday when he heard the door and answered it to find Alec was there in his jeans and same old grey sweater with the hood up, it seemed to have rained a bit on his way over from the institute.

"Perfect timing I was just about to text you. So what brings you here?"

Alec blushes slightly and looks to the side a bit as he speaks.

"Well Jace and Clary are out and Izzy is with Simon at his bands practice and since bro- um Zachariah took church back the institute just seems so empty now so I thought maybe I'd come and spend the night with you, if you aren't too busy that is."

Magnus loved when Alec got all flustered like this, he was such a great warrior but when it came to his personal life he didn't seem to know what to do without his sister or adopted brother around, they had been together for so long that with everyone out doing their own thing so often, it left him feeling lost and not to mention that the previous owner of their family pet came back and took him home with him though they hadn't know that before, to them it was strange that a former Silentbrother would steal their cat.

"Don't worry about it; I was just thinking about how we could spend our anniversary this weekend."

Alec looks up and smiles and Magnus loves it.

"So what were you planning?"

Magnus pulls him in and kisses him lightly before answering.

"Well I was thinking that we could reserve a privet table somewhere nice, maybe go for a leisurely stroll around and then come back here. How's that sound?"

Alec seemed to think about it for a moment.

"I do recall something of that nature being the plan before and it all went crazy."

Magnus smiled having thought the same thing before.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad."

Alec gave him a skeptical look as he began recounting the events of said date.

"I couldn't get away from training and was running late, you got your pockets picked at the subway, and we ended up dealing with a rampaging werewolf as I recall, and I also recall you may or may not have been waiting for your friend to call with a fake emergency so that you could bail out."

Magnus shrugged non-pulsed.

"And still yet not even in my top ten worst first dates." This got a small laugh out of Alec. _Good_ Magnus thought, he wasn't sure how Alec would react to that. He used to have a hard time hearing about Magnus's past loves because it brought home the fact that Magnus was immortal and Alec's time was far more brief.

Alec changes the subject for him before they got too caught up in that thought.

"It's not that late out yet, is there anything that you feel like doing today?"

Magnus thought about it for a moment.

"You know since you will be staying here for a while why don't we go and buy you some new clothes that you could keep here."

Alec wasn't so sure about this plan.

"I could always just bring clothes from home anytime, we don't really need to go shopping for new ones."

To be honest Magnus would rather get rid of half his clothes and buy Alec new ones than do that because Alec's wardrobe was very… grey, he needed new clothes.

"Don't worry about it; just think of it as a gift from me."

Alec blushed but conceded.

"Alright then."

Magnus smiled feeling like he had won.

"Glad to hear it, shall we?" he gestures toward the door Alec nodded and they left the apartment to go shopping.

 **Please let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2 Shopping trip

**Chapter 2 Shopping trip**

Alec wasn't used to shopping with others, he usually just got himself something as he needed it, and he never really put much thought into what he would need to look for while shopping with Magnus but he was also glad for this trip, it seemed like something that normal couples would do.

It just seemed so normal that Alec didn't really care what he bought, at least that was the thought until they got to a high end store with a lot of expensive looking articles on display. It seemed more like the kind of place that Izzy would frequent but Magnus led the way in and started looking at some shirts, he picked up a few and handed them to Alec.

"What do you think? These look good, why don't you try them on?"

Alec was a little embarrassed having someone else picking out his clothes but he wanted to make Magnus happy so he went over to the change rooms, while he was in there Magnus came by with a couple pairs of pants and a few belts for him to try on together, so despite not being sure if this was the right store for him or not Alec tried on the outfits Magnus had picked out for him.

The clothes fit alright so he walked out of the change room to see what Magnus thought, outside of the change room Alec could see Magnus looking at jewelry and other accessories along one wall when he picked something up looked over and smiled.

The clothes that he had selected for Alec looked great on him, though they weren't tailored to Magnus's specific tastes like his own wardrobe these did suit Alec well. Magnus picked up a necklace he had been looking at and brought it over to Alec and handed it to him.

Alec took the necklace and looked at it, it was a silver bow and arrow on a chain, Alec bit back a laugh as he examined it.

 _Leave it to Magnus to find something like this_. He thought to himself.

"It suits you." Magnus said though weather he was referring to the necklace or the outfit Alec wasn't sure.

"Well I'm glad you like it considering you were the one who picked it out." he said and Magnus smiled.

"I do have amazing taste don't I?" Alec couldn't help the small laugh that escaped his lips, modesty certainly wasn't one of Magnus' strong points but he loved that about him.

"If you're happy with it we'll get it, now why not try on the next one! This is like watching _Project runway_ but much better!" Magnus was certainly enjoying this so Alec nodded and handed the necklace over to Magnus before he headed back to the changing room to try on the next outfit his boyfriend had picked out for him.

Alec had never been much for trying on a bunch of different outfits while out shopping, he tended to just find something in his size and buy it, trying on different things to see what they looked best with what really hadn't been a concern for him before but he was happy to play along with Magnus' love of clothing.

While Alec went back to the change room to try something else on Magnus noticed the level of attention the clerk had been paying to his boyfriend and though he understood the attraction, Alexander was his boyfriend, so when he came back out with a new outfit Magnus made sure to make a show of wrapping his arms around Alec and giving him a passionate kiss catching him off guard and sending a clear message to the clerk.

"What was that for?" Alec asked, a little confused by his boyfriends sudden display of passion, Magnus just smile with a playful gleam in his beautiful cat eyes that Alec loved.

"Just because I wanted to." Alec still felt shy when it came to public displays of affection, even if he was the one that had initiated that kiss in front of the whole Clave back in Idris.

"Oh… okay." Alec could feel the blush that had exploded all over his face burning his cheeks. "Um the clothes, do you like them?" Alec asked trying to get back to the reason they were in the store to begin with.

"Yes, they suit you nicely Alexander." Magnus said giving him one of his trademark smiles and Alec's mind almost went blank. "O-okay, um I guess we'll get these then." Magnus gave him another quick kiss before stepping back.

"How about we pay for the ones that you like and then head home for the night?"

Alec's heart swelled when Magnus said home, not _My place, Home_.

"Alright."

While Alec headed back to the change room, Magnus's phone rang. When he looked at the I.D. he saw that it came from the hospital that Catrina worked at, if she was calling him from work it must have been important so he picked it up right away.

"Is this a state of emergency?" he could practically hear her rolling her eyes on the other end.

"Yes Magnus, it is." Well there was a tone he knew not to ignore.

"What is it?"

"Have you heard anything about any new cults or that sort of thing in the city recently?"

He tried to think of any news like that but nothing came to mind.

"Not that I've heard of, why?"

Catrina sighed like she had hit dead end after dead end.

"There has been a string of murders recently and the police are trying to keep it quiet but it looks like some kind of ritual, and I don't recognize it. I thought that maybe you or your friends might have heard something."

Something was lurking at the back of Magnus' mind but he had seen many strange things over the _length of time_ he had been alive and ritual killings didn't always lead back to the shadow world, many times it was just human against human violence that still baffled him.

"Tell you what, let me just finish what I'm doing and then I'll head on over and see if I can find something."

This time Catrina let out a breath that sounded like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders

"Thank you Magnus, I really appreciate this." Magnus smiled knowing that his dear friend really did appreciate his help.

"I know, see you soon." He hung up his phone just as Alec came back.

"Who was that?" Alec asked when he saw the thoughtful look on Magnus' face.

"Cat, she needs help with something at the hospital and I said I'd go and see what I could do."

Alec looked slightly disappointed but he understood that Magnus needed to go; it was a part of being the High Warlock of Brooklyn after all.

"I understand, I'll see you at home?"

Magnus reached over and took the clothes from Alec so that he could go and pay for them.

"Of course." But before he turned away he seemed to have another thought, "You haven't heard anything about a new cult doing ritual killings have you?" he asked just loud enough for Alec to hear, but Alec looked about as confused as he had felt when Cat had mentioned it.

"Never mind, it could just be some twisted Mundane doing it, but Cat wanted me to help look into it to be sure." Alec nodded; he was just as baffled with human cruelty as Magnus was.

Magnus held up the clothes and led the way to the register.

"Well shall we get these rung up?"

 **How am I doing so far?**


	3. Chapter 3 What happened?

**Sorry for the wait guys, I just sort of hit a wall with this for a bit.**

 **Chapter 3 What happened?**

After they had bought the new clothes for Alec, Magnus had seen him to the train and after saying goodbye Alec rode back to Magnus' loft with his new outfits that Magnus had picked out for him.

Alec's cell rang as he reached the front door to Magnus' and he set down one of the bags on the steps to answer the call.

"Hey Izzy, I thought you were out with Simon tonight." He hadn't expected to hear from his sister tonight, he pressed the phone between his shoulder and his ear as he went to open the door.

"Yeah I am, I was just calling to let you know that I'll probably not be home until later in the day tomorrow, I figured you'd be all alone," he could hear the smile in her voice, "If you're even at home that is."

Alec rolled his eyes at his sister even though she couldn't see it.

"You're right I'm not at home, I'm at Magnus', though by the sound of your attempt to hold back you laughter you already knew that."

Izzy let out the laugh she had not so successfully been holding back.

"Oh I knew it, everyone else was out with a date so you followed suit, anyway say hi to Magnus for me. Maybe we'll all stop by tomorrow for coffee."

Alec bent down to grab his things to take them inside.

"Well at least you're giving a warning this time." He said but before he entered the loft he thought he felt something like a bad feeling at the back of his mind, and just inside the doorway was a note that had probably been pushed under the door or something because he hadn't noticed it before. "What's that…?" he asked quietly as he reached for the note.

"What?" Izzy asked not sure what he had said.

"Huh? Oh not you, there's a note on the floor." He told her as he held it up to see what it said.

 ** _Time's up._** Was all that it said on it.

"What the?" but that was all he could get out before something hit him in the back of the head and everything went black.

…

"Alec? Alec what happened? Alec what was that sound?!" Izzy's voice called though the phone, the only sound in a now vacant room.

…

Magnus stood with Catrina in the morgue of the hospital that she worked in as they examined the body of what could only be described as an ordinary mundane. Magnus could not figure out why such a normal looking person would have met with such an unusual end, it did appear to be an attempt at some kind of ritual killing or possible a mix of a few with so many inconsistencies it was hard to tell what the purpose was for such a cruel act.

"I just can't figure out what happened or for what reason someone would do this, nothing could have come of this so why would they go to such lengths to do something like this?" Catrina said as she looked at the body again, Magnus knew that she would have more knowledge of this sort of thing but with so many different elements involved it was clear that the culprit knew a thing or two and she wanted fresh eyes to help connect things. Magnus hated cases like this but wanted to help his lifelong friend so he fought down his nausea and took a closer look at the body.

"It is strange, I can't figure out why they would jump around so much since they seem to know what they are doing; some of these are very advance but incomplete. It's almost as though they meant for all of these mistakes." He shuddered at the thought of someone purposely putting another living person, because they would still have been alive through most of this, through such torture just to leave the task incomplete…

"Why would they use conflicting spells? I just can't wrap my mind around this." Cat said; her hair was showing its natural white through the glamor she used to blend in with the mundanes, proof that this mystery was really taxing her. She turned back to face Magnus. "Are you sure that you don't know of any new cults or rogues who might be behind this?" but Magnus just shook his head again, he'd never seen this either, it was too calculated and oddly timed, it didn't line up with any special dates that held any significant meaning.

"I haven't heard of any new groups rising up recently, I've barely had any request lately… wait there was an odd request recently but nothing like this."

Cat looked at him curiously.

"What kind of odd request?"

Magnus shrugged since he didn't really know himself.

"Well that's the odd part, these people wouldn't specify what they wanted or even who they were, they would always contact through notes at my door. I refuse to get involved with anyone refusing to tell me who they are or what they want." He looked at the body before him.

"You don't think this was them do you? Like some sort of warning or message?" he asked, now that the idea had come to mind it was hard to let go.

Cat seemed to think it over.

"The timing is strange like you said, if it is the same people and they're responsible for… this," she gestured to the body, "Then maybe it was a good thing you didn't get involved, with magic on their side who knows what they could do."

Magnus was going to respond but then his phone went off, and needing a distraction from all of this he gladly answered without bothering to check the caller ID first.

"Magnus! Where are you?!"

Magnus was a bit taken aback by Izzy's frantic tone.

"Izzy? What's wrong? I'm with Catrina right now." He wasn't sure why Izzy would be calling him but he had a bad feeling about it.

"I think something happened to Alec!"

Magnus almost dropped his phone.

"What?!"

"I had called him and he had said that he was over at your place but something happened while I was talking to him and I heard something and then he wasn't there anymore! We rushed over to your place but there was no one there and all we could find were some shopping bags and Alec's phone lying on the ground near a note!"

Magnus' heart almost stopped right there as his blood went cold with dread.

"Note?" it was the only thing he could manage to say, he barely registered that Cat was now focusing on his conversation.

"I think it's what Alec found when he was talking to me; all it said was **_Time's up._** " He heard her take in a shuddering breath before she continued. "Magnus what happened to my brother?" He could hear the tears in her voice as well as the sound of someone, likely Simon, trying to comfort her.

Then someone else took the phone, this time it was Clary talking to him also sounding shaken.

"Magnus? Do you know anything? Why would someone attack Alec in your home?"

He knew that she was trying her best to sound calm but he knew her well enough to know that she was just as worried as the rest of them, Magnus wanted nothing more than to portal home right this instant and see what had happened for himself.

"I be right there." That was all he could get out before hanging up.

Magnus turned to Cat and saw her concern.

"I need to go." He knew he wouldn't need to give any kind of explanation; she just nodded.

"Call me if you need anything."

 **Well I hope that made sense.**


	4. Chapter 4 What now?

**Hey you guys still with me? Sorry this took forever!**

 **Chapter 4 What now?**

Alec came awake to the sound of unfamiliar voices. He wasn't sure what was happening but he decided to pretend to still be unconscious as he tried to figure out what was happening and why someone would attack him in Magnus' apartment.

The last thing he remembered was talking to Izzy over the phone and finding that odd note on the floor before something hit him. He doubted he was still at the apartment, Izzy would surely know that something was wrong and would have raced over there by now, though honestly he had no idea how much time had passed between then and now.

Alec wished he had applied new runes that would help him hear the hushed conversation better, or at least to dull the pain in the back of his head, what had they hit him with anyway?

Alec's heart jumped when he realised that he wouldn't have had many weapons on him so he wasn't sure how he was going to get out of this mess. He also took notice of the fact that whoever had done this had also tied him to a chair, even though Alec wasn't really all that knowledgeable about mundane culture he knew from the movies Clary, Simon, and Magnus had them watch that this was extremely cliché. He just hoped that if he opened his eyes and found himself inside of a small room or an abandoned warehouse he wouldn't see only a single flickering lightbulb over his head. If the others found him like that he knew that Jace especially wouldn't let him forget it for quite some time.

"Are you absolutely sure you got the right guy?"

Alec tried once more to focus on the voices.

"Pretty sure, they said that the Warlock had black hair and was tall. They also said he was the only one who lived there aside from a cat."

"Did you see some kind of mark? Aren't they supposed to have some sort of markings that let you know that they're not human?"

"Well he had these odd tattoos but I couldn't really see them all that well."

Great if a mundane could see his marks then that meant that his glamor to hide them was slipping, so some time must have passed since he'd been knocked out.

"I also found this wand and these odd daggers; do you think they're for some sort of ritual?"

Oh great he didn't even have his stele or seraph blades on him. Now he knew he'd never hear the end of this from his Parabatai. But clearly these people, whoever they were, were after Magnus and had somehow confused them and grabbed him instead. What Alec wanted to know was what these people wanted with his boyfriend and why they would go to such measures to get to him.

But before he could contemplate it any further though someone else entered the area they were in. Alec did his best to even out his breathing and remain slumped in the chair in order to make it appear as though he were still unconscious as he listened to the newcomer.

"Did you get him?" the new comer asked as soon as they arrived, not even bothering to wait for an answer he seemed to step passed the two that had been talking before and Alec heard a door creak as it opened meaning he was in a separate room but the door had been slightly ajar.

The footsteps came to an abrupt stop soon after entering the room he was in and Alec did his best not to alert them to the fact that he was conscious. He became hyperaware of everything that was happening in that moment as he felt eyes burn into him and he had to supress the shiver trying to make its way down his spine. There was something powerful about this man that stood here staring at him.

"This isn't Bane." He said in a low, almost quiet voice, that simple statement couldn't have seemed more intense if he had shouted.

Alec heard the sounds of the other two men gulping nervously, clearly this wasn't someone you wanted to anger and judging by how terrified the first two seemed as they tried to defend their mistake he wasn't someone who took failure well.

"We did what we were told! We watched the building and waited and when we saw this guy with a key we thought he must be the warlock!" one tried to explain.

"We really didn't have much to go on except a vague description and the info said he lives alone!" The other piped up but it seemed useless.

"Please, give us another chance! I'm sure we can get Bane this time!" the first one begged.

Alec wondered what exactly they were so afraid of, it wasn't the first time he'd encountered a ruthless power hungry psycho but going by how clueless the underlings were, he was beginning to doubt that they were downworlders. If there were they would have been able to tell that he was a shadowhunter instantly and would likely have known who Magnus was and not confuse them. It wasn't unheard of for underwolders to have human lackeys but Alec still didn't know if this man was a downworlder or not, clearly he was more informed than the other two but that didn't mean much.

"Yeah I mean this guy might be a friend of the warlock! Maybe we can use him as bait to lure him in like a hostage or something!" the other said sounding frantic to come up with something to spare them but from what Alec had no idea, something terrible from the sounds of how desperate they were to save themselves.

The room went quiet and the air somehow felt heavier as Alec and the two underlings waited for the final verdict from the supposed leader.

"Hmmm… that could actually work." He said at last and Alec could hear the sighs of relief coming from the other two, but it was short lived.

"As for you two, you know what happens when you don't complete your assignment." The leader said in a cold detached voice.

"Bu- but the plan can still work! We just need to lure in the warlock and everything will be fine!" one of them stammered, it sounded like he was ready to make a run for it though if he'd get very far Alec had no idea.

"That's right, we just need to send a message to him and let him know we have his friend and wait for him to come to us! The plan can still work! He's turned us down so many times already but if we keep his friend here he might actually do what we tell him!" the other said still trying to hold onto whatever shred of hope he had that they could get out of whatever punishment awaited them.

"That's also true, but everything has a price and the price of failure is high indeed." The leader said and Alec felt his stomach drop as he heard the underlings scream and beg for mercy as someone or something dragged them away. By the Angel he'd never get used to a sound like that so long as he lived.

"You can open your eyes now, there's no point in pretending to still be asleep. I'm sure you have been listening to everything for quite some time already." The man said as if he were tired of some childish game and was ready to get back to reality now.

Alec lifted his head and tried his best not to flinch at the pain that shot through his skull from the motion. He looked at the man before him in the dimly lit room not even bothering to look around, it seemed relatively empty from what he could gather and what mattered now was trying to get a good look at this man and try to figure out what was going to come of this situation.

The man was tall, well over six feet and had a sturdy build. He had on expensive looking clothes and his hair was well groomed, clearly this was someone of money or power, maybe both from the way he had spoken to the other two. He had hard eyes and a cold expression that matched the voice Alec had heard before. All in all this guy just seemed like bad news and Alec wanted to know just what this man wanted with Magnus.

"So what happens now?" Alec asked as he locked eyes with the man before him.

"Well that depends on your warlock friend, for your sake you'd better hope he takes the deal." And with that the man leaves Alec alone once more in the room, shutting the door behind him and cutting off the only source of light.

 **Hey guys sorry this took so long! I had like 400 words written and then kind of just drew a blank. Anyway here's the first glimpse we have of the bad guy, I hope this works for you.**


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